Tarmo Kõuts

This article is about the Estonian Vice admiral. For the marine scientist, see Tarmo Kõuts (marine scientist).

Tarmo Kõuts (born 27 November 1953) is an Estonian politician and former Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces.

Tarmo Kõuts
Tarmo Kõuts in 2019
Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces
In office 21 September 2000 – 14 November 2006
President	Lennart Meri Arnold Rüütel Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Preceded by	Aarne Ermus
Succeeded by	Ants Laaneots
Personal details
Born	(1953-11-27) 27 November 1953 (age 71) Sandla, Pihtla Parish, Estonia
Military service
Allegiance	Estonia
Branch/service	Estonian Defence Forces
Years of service	2000–2006
Rank	Vice admiral
Commands	Estonian Defence Forces Estonian Border Guard
Awards	See: Awards, decorations, and recognition

Kõuts graduated from Tallinn Maritime School in 1973 and from Kaliningrad Technical Institute in 1985. From 1973 to 1990 he worked in various positions in the Estonian Shipping Company. He served as the rector of Estonian Maritime Academy from 1990 to 1993 and as the director-general of Estonian Border Guard from 1993 to 2000.

In September 2000 Rear Admiral Kõuts was appointed commander of the Estonian Defence Forces. Having been promoted to the rank of vice admiral in 2002, Kõuts retained the position until 2006, when he stepped down to move into politics. He joined the right-wing Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica and successfully ran for a seat in the parliament in the 2007 elections.

Effective dates of promotion

Estonian Army

See Military ranks of Estonia

Promotions

Insignia	Rank	Date
	Captain (Navy) (Mereväekapten)	30 December 1993[1]
	Rear Admiral (Kontradmiral)	19 June 1998[2]
	Vice Admiral (Viitseadmiral)	20 February 2002[3]

Awards, decorations, and recognition

Awards and decorations

Estonian Awards and decorations
	2nd Class of the Order of the National Coat of Arms	2 February 2005
	2nd Class of the Order of the Cross of the Eagle	9 February 1998
	White Cross of the Estonian Defence League (I class)	2006
	White Cross of the Estonian Defence League (III class)
	Cross of Merit of the Ministry of Defence
	Distinguished Service Decoration of the EDF	23 February 1998
	Memorial Medal "10 Years of the Re-Established Defence Forces"
	Memorial Cross "Spearhead Admiral Pitka"
	Border Guard Cross of Merit I Class	27 October 1997
	Golden Cross of the Rescue Board
	Police Cross of Merit 2nd class	2007
	Memorial Medal 10 Years of the Re-Established Border Guard (I Class)
	Women's Voluntary Defence Organization Cross of Lily
	Cross of the Estonian Reserve Officers' Assembly (gold)	6 May 2004[4]
	St. George's Night Great Star	2007[5]
Foreign Awards
	Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland	2006 (Finland)
	1st Class of the Order of Viesturs	2005 (Latvia)
	Commander's Grand Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas	30 September 2004 (Lithuania)
	Knight Grand Cross of Order of Merit of the Italian Republic	20 April 2004 (Italy)
	Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry	29 May 2003 (Portugal)
	State of Maryland Distinguished Service Cross	(U.S.)
	Lithuanian Armed Forces Medal of Merit	(Lithuania)
	Latvian Army Medal of Merit I Class	(Latvia)
	Latvian Border Guard Cross of Merit II class	(Latvia)
	Latvian Border Guard 80 Anniversary Medal	(Latvia)
	Finland Border Guard Medal of Merit	(Finland)
	Grand Officer of the CISM Order of Merit	(International)
	Baltic Assembly Medal	(International)

Badges
	Estonian Border Guard badge	23 February 1994
	The Order of Merit of Estonian Border Guard "Sword and Lynx"	29 December 1993
	Order of Merit of Defense League unit in Tallinn